José Mário d'Almeida

Dípteros muscóides como vetores mecânicos de ovos de helmintos em jardim zoológico, Brasil

OBJETIVO: Verificar as especies de dipteros muscoides capazes de veicular ovos e larvas de helmintos e avaliar o potencial de contaminacao dos dipteros capturados. METODOS: A pesquisa foi realizada em dois pontos distintos do Jardim Zoologico da cidade do Rio de Janeiro, RJ, no periodo de maio de 1996 a abril de 1998. As capturas dos dipteros foram realizadas semanalmente com armadilhas contendo peixe em putrefacao, que permaneceram expostas durante uma hora nos dois pontos: local 1- proximo a lixeira do zoologico e o local 2- perto do recinto do hipopotamo e das aves de rapina. Foram capturadas 41.080 moscas, sendo a especie Chrysomya megacephala mais representativa com 69,34%, seguida de Chrysomya albiceps 11,22%, Musca domestica 7,15%, Chrysomya putoria 4,52%, Fannia sp. 3,12%, Ophyra sp. 2,53% e Atherigona orientalis 2,08%. As moscas capturadas tiveram a superficie dos corpos lavadas com agua destilada e os tubos digestivos dissecados. RESULTADOS: Das especies estudadas, C. megacephala e M. domestica apresentaram maior quantidade de ovos de helmintos na superficie do corpo e no conteudo intestinal. Ovos de Ascaridoidea e Trichinelloidea prevaleceram no conteudo intestinal de C. megacephala. Dos ovos de helmintos encontrados na superficie do corpo e no conteudo intestinal foram identificados: Ascaris sp., Toxascaris sp., Toxocara sp., Trichuris sp., Capillaria sp., Oxiurideos, Triconstrogilideos e Acantocephala. Tambem foram encontradas larvas de helmintos na superficie do corpo dos dipteros. Houve diferencas significativas (nivel de 5%, pelo teste F) entre os diferentes pontos de capturas em relacao ao numero de ovos de helmintos encontrados nos dipteros. CONCLUSOES: As fezes dos animais do jardim zoologico, encontradas frequentemente nos abrigos e lixeiras, contribuiram para a proliferacao dos dipteros muscoides, que assumem importante papel na veiculacao de ovos de helmintos, principalmente pelo contato direto do corpo do diptero com o alimento dos animais.

Levantamento de Calliphoridae, Fanniidae, Muscidae e Sarcophagidae em um fragmento de mata na Ilha do Governador, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil

This paper aimed to study the diversity of dipterans of the families Calliphoridae, Fanniidae, Muscidae and Sarcophagidae in a fragment of the Atlantic rainforest located in the Ilha do Governador, Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil, from July 2001 to July 2002. The temporal variation occurrence of the most frequent species of the studied families in the fragment was also analyzed. The collections were performed with traps using baits of rotten fish. The most frequent and most constant species was Chrysomya megacephala (Fabricius, 1794) which is exotic and was introduced about twenty years ago in the American Continent.

Agonistic behavior and environmental enrichment of cats communally housed in a shelter

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the presence of a dominance rank in a group of cats and the relation between agonistic behavior and the use of resources, including environmental enrichment, in these cats. DESIGN Observational analytic study. ANIMALS 27 neutered cats in a shelter in Sao Paulo, Brazil. PROCEDURES The cats were video recorded for 4 consecutive days to obtain baseline data. Subsequently, a puzzle feeder was added as an enrichment device every other day over 8 days, for a total of 4 days with enrichment. Cats were also video recorded on these days. All pretreatment and posttreatment agonistic behaviors and interactions with the puzzle feeder were recorded by reviewing the videotapes. RESULTS 143 agonistic encounters were recorded, of which 44 were related to resources and 99 were not. There were insufficient agonistic interactions to determine a dominance rank. Presence or absence of the puzzle feeder did not affect the rate of aggression. There was no significant effect of weight, sex, or coat color on the rate of aggression, and aggressive behavior did not correlate with time spent with the puzzle feeder. Twenty-three of the 27 cats interacted with the puzzle feeder. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE In a stable group of communally housed cats, environmental enrichment did not cause increased aggression as a result of competition for the source of enrichment. Because environmental enrichment increases the opportunity to perform exploratory behaviors, it may improve the welfare of groups of cats maintained long-term in shelters, sanctuaries, or multicat households.

Microhimenópteros parasitóides de Chrysomya megacephala

The study was carried out with the purpose of identifying the main parasitoids of Chrysomya megacephala in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, given the importance of these flies as vectors of pathogenic agents in the urban environment. Samplings were conducted every week from August 1999 to July 2000. The substrate used to grow fly pupae and to trap parasitoids was decomposing meat. It was identified three species of microhimenopterans: Tachinaephagus zealandicus (Encyrtidae), Pachycrepoideus vindemiae (Pteromalidae) and Nasonia vitripennis (Pteromalidae). Further analysis will be performed in order to show the potential of these insects as agents in biological control programs.

Desenvolvimento pós-embrionário de Pattonella intermutans (Thomson) (Diptera: Sarcophagidae) em diferentes dietas

Post-embryonary development of Pattonella intermutans (Thomson, 1869) in different diets. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the post-embryonary development of Pattonella intermutans (Thomson, 1969) in artificial diets composed of agar-agar. Diet D 1 : whole dried milk + dried brewers yeast; Diet D 2 : whole dried milk + dried brewers yeast+ casein; Diet D 3 : whole dried milk + whole egg; Diet D 4 : bovine meal (control diet). The bovine meat was the best diet (larval weight 195.63mg and viability from larvae to adult 86,5%), when compared to all other artificial diets. The following performances were obtained for experimental groups: diet D 3 : 180.15 mg and 63.5%; diet D 2 : 141.07 mg and 61% and diet D 1 : 147.98 mg e 51.5%.

Mortalidade de larvas e pupas de Chrysomya megacephala (Fabricius) (Diptera: Calliphoridae) e seu parasitismo por microhimenópteros na cidade do Rio de Janeiro, RJ

Devido a importância de Chrysomya megacephala (Fabricius) como vetor de microrganismos patogenicos em grandes aglomeracoes humanas, este trabalho teve por objetivo conhecer a mortalidade da mosca durante as fases larval e pupal e o seu parasitismo por microhimenopteros. Larvas de C. megacephala de terceiro instar, juntamente com seu substrato de criacao (carne bovina moida putrefata), foram colocadas por sete dias proximo a lixeiras, no campus do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz /FIOCRUZ e no Jardim Zoologico do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, de agosto de 1999 a julho de 2000. As pupas recolhidas apos o periodo em campo foram individualizadas em capsulas de gelatina e mantidas em câmara climatica (27°C) por aproximadamente 35 dias. Foi verificado o numero de pupas com emergencia de moscas, com emergencia de parasitoides e pupas sem emergencia, sendo as ultimas dissecadas. Obteve-se mortalidade media de 29,6% durante a fase larval e pupal das moscas quando expostas ao ambiente externo, contra 16,5% do grupo controle. Das pupas trazidas do campo, 5,6% estavam parasitadas, de 77,6% emergiram moscas e de 16,8% nao houve emergencia. Tachinaephagus zealandicus Ashmead (Encyrtidae) mostrou-se um promissor inimigo natural de C. megacephala, com a maior percentagem de colonizacao das pupas parasitadas (78,6%) e maior numero medio de parasitoides por pupa (15,2). Pachycrepoideus vindemiae Rondani (Pteromalidae) e Nasonia vitripennis (Walker) (Pteromalidae), apresentaram menor percentagem de parasitismo que a primeira especie, tanto no IOC como no Zoologico, parasitando 13,2% e 8,2% das pupas, ambos com 1,0 e 11,1 parasitoides por pupa, em media, respectivamente.

Efeito de diferentes iscas na atração de califorídeos (diptera) no campus do Valonguinho, Universidade Federal Fluminense, Niterói, RJ, Brasil

It was carried out a survey of blowflies in an area of the Campus (Valonguinho) of the Universidade Federal Fluminense, Niterói, Rio de Janeiro. The collections were performed with traps, using baits of fish (sardine), bovine liver, shrimps and banana. Were collected 6015 flies, Chrysomya megacephala and Lucilia eximia were the most frequent (50.55% and 21.52%, respectively). The flies were more abundant in February and March and the most attractive bait was fish (38.32%).

Dinâmica populacional e parasitismo de Himenópteros parasitóides de Chrysomya megacephala (Fabricius) (Diptera, Calliphoridae), no Rio de Janeiro, RJ

This study was carried out from August 1999 to July 2000 to evaluate the population dynamics and to know the parasitoids of Chrysomya megacephala (Fabricius, 1794) at the Instituto Oswaldo Cruz (IOC/ FIOCRUZ) and Jardim Zoologico, in Rio de Janeiro City. Samplings were conducted weekly with third instar larvae of the fly and putrefying ground beef. It was identified three species of hymenopterans parasitoids: Tachinaephagus zealandicus Ashmead, 1904 (Encyrtidae), Pachycrepoideus vindemiae (Rondani, 1875) (Pteromalidae) and Nasonia vitripennis (Walker, 1836) (Pteromalidae). In both sampling areas, T. zealandicus was the species with the highest parasitism rate of C. megacephala, followed by P. vindemiae and N. vitripennis. Parasitoid population decreases drastically in the summer (average temperature = 28°C; precipitation = 6.5 mm). The population peak of parasitoids was verified at the end of autunm and during the whole winter. At Jardim Zoologico, supply of garbage was a strong influence in the population dynamics of himenopteran parasitoids identified in this study, and the population peak in this area was verified in June and July 2000.

Observações preliminares sobre a atratividade por diferentes cores em Calliphoridae (Diptera), Niterói, RJ, Brasil

This research aimed to evaluate the influence of colours on the collecting of Calliphoridae flies. The methodology was based on colour traps (green, black, yellow, red, blue and white), baited with fish rotten (sardine). Green, black and red colours were the most attractive to the blowflies. It were collected 3549 flies, belonging to nine species. The most frequent were Chrysomya megacephala (Fabricius, 1794) (74,86%) and Lucilia eximia (Wiedemann, 1819) (14,06%).

Ocorrência de multiparasitismo em larvas de terceiro ínstar e pupas de Chrysomya megacephala (Fabricius) em condições de campo

During research experiment involving parasitism of third instar larvae and pupae of Chrysomya megacephala (Fabricius, 1794) in Rio de Janeiro city, Brazil, it was found 1.83% of multiparasited pupae in Instituto Oswaldo Cruz (IOC) and 2.16% in Jardim Zoologico (ZOO). The exposition were conducted weekly from August 1999 to July 2000. The multiparasited pupae contained two Hymenoptera parasitoids species [Tachinaephagus zealandicus Ashmead, 1904 and either Pachycrepoideus vindemiae (Rondani, 1875) or Nasonia vitripennis (Walker, 1836)]. 72.73% of the multiparasitism occurred at ZOO in July. T. zealandicus and P. vindemiae supported their respective gregarious and solitary natural conditions, respectively, but N. vitripennis sometimes behaved as solitary.